Netflix to revive ‘Arrested Development’

In a surprise move, industry-leading video streaming service Netflix said this weekend that it will revive the critically acclaimed Fox television series “Arrested Development” in the lead-up to a feature film based on the show.

“Arrested Development is one of the finest American comedies in TV history and its return through Netflix is a perfect example of how we are working closely with studios and networks to provide consumers with entertainment they love,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a media advisory.

“It’s also a perfect example of how broad and successful our relationship has become with Fox as we work together with their film, television, international and digital divisions on several exciting initiatives,” he added.

Despite winning six Emmy awards and one Golden Globe, not to mention its intensely loyal fan base, “Arrested Development” went off the air in 2006, after just 53 episodes spanning three seasons.

Series creators said in Oct. that the Bluth family would return for a fourth season, but left it unclear where it might air.

“After a long hiatus, I’m dying to finally get back to the narrator’s microphone,” narrator and executive producer Ron Howard said. “‘It’s Arrested…Development.'”

The show, produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Television, is expected to return sometime in 2013.

Until then, this clip of the show’s character “Tobias” pretending to be a mixture of “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Marry Poppins” will have to hold you over.

About the Author

Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.